Ontario · Grade 6 · 2026–27 · For parents

What your child learns in Grade 6 in Ontario

In Grade 6, Ontario students work through Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, French — 208 specific skills across 20 units, set by the province's official curriculum. This page lists them all in plain words, subject by subject, so you know exactly what "how was school?" is actually covering this year.

5Subjects
20Units
208Skills

Built from the official Ontario curriculum · free to start · web, iPhone & Android

How to read this page

Ontario publishes its curriculum as long official documents written for teachers. This page is the same content, translated for the fridge door: each subject below shows this year's units and the skills inside them. If a skill sounds unfamiliar, that's the point — now you know what to ask about at dinner.

Mathematics this year

Math builds in layers, and this year's layer matters — each unit below leans on the ones before it. In Ontario, that's Mathematics, Grade 6 — 5 units, 51 skills.

Number

  • Reading and representing numbers to one million
  • Reading and representing integers on number lines
  • Reading, representing, comparing, and ordering decimals to thousandths
+ 15 more skills in this unit →

Algebra

  • Identifying patterns and specifying which growing patterns are linear
  • Adding monomials with a degree of 1
  • Writing and running efficient code with conditionals and control structures
+ 7 more skills in this unit →

Data

  • Describing the difference between discrete and continuous data
  • Selecting and justifying a graph type, including histograms and broken-line graphs
  • Determining range and measures of central tendency to compare data sets
+ 5 more skills in this unit →

Spatial Sense

  • Listing geometric properties of quadrilaterals
  • Constructing 3D objects from top, front, and side views
  • Plotting and reading coordinates in all four quadrants and describing translations
+ 7 more skills in this unit →

Financial Literacy

  • Describing advantages and disadvantages of payment methods
  • Identifying types of financial goals and key steps to achieve them
  • Explaining interest rates and fees on accounts and loans
+ 2 more skills in this unit →

See the full Mathematics, Grade 6 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →

English Language Arts this year

Reading, writing, and speaking skills deepen this year — less "can they read it," more "what do they make of it." In Ontario, that's English (Language), Grade 6 — 4 units, 58 skills.

Literacy Connections and Applications

  • Rights, responsibilities, and digital identity
  • Identity and belonging in diverse texts
+ 7 more skills in this unit →

Foundations of Language

  • Active listening in discussions
  • Morphology: reading and spelling with word parts
  • Complex sentences with adjective (relative) clauses
+ 10 more skills in this unit →

Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts

  • Reading and comprehending texts
  • Using prior knowledge
  • Literary devices
+ 19 more skills in this unit →

Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts

  • Planning topic, purpose, and audience
  • Drafting texts in various genres
  • Producing final texts
+ 11 more skills in this unit →

See the full English (Language), Grade 6 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →

Science this year

Science gets more structured this year — real investigations, real explanations, real vocabulary. In Ontario, that's Science and Technology, Grade 6 — 5 units, 39 skills.

STEM Skills and Connections

  • Coding to obtain input
  • How coding and new technology affect life and skilled trades
  • Science and technology in occupations and skilled trades
+ 1 more skill in this unit →

Biodiversity

  • Benefits and loss of biodiversity
  • Classifying organisms
+ 9 more skills in this unit →

Electricity and Electrical Devices

  • Impacts of generating electrical energy
  • Static electricity
+ 7 more skills in this unit →

Flight

  • Impacts of aviation technologies
  • Properties of air used for flight
+ 4 more skills in this unit →

Space

  • Conditions in space and human needs
  • Components of the solar system
+ 7 more skills in this unit →

See the full Science and Technology, Grade 6 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →

Social Studies this year

Social studies widens the lens this year — history, geography, and how communities and governments work. In Ontario, that's Social Studies, Grade 6 — 2 units, 28 skills.

Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada, Past and Present

  • How features shape a country's identity
  • Traditional and treaty territory
+ 13 more skills in this unit →

People and Environment: Canada's Interactions with the Global Community

  • Why Canada joins international accords
  • How Canada interacts with other nations
+ 11 more skills in this unit →

See the full Social Studies, Grade 6 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →

French this year

French builds through listening, speaking, and simple reading — confidence first, grammar second. In Ontario, that's Core French, Grade 6 — 4 units, 32 skills.

Listening

  • Using listening strategies
  • Interactive listening strategies
  • French-speaking communities in Ontario
+ 4 more skills in this unit →

Speaking

  • Using speaking strategies
  • Speaking-interaction strategies
  • Speaking about French-speaking communities
+ 5 more skills in this unit →

Reading

  • Using reading strategies
  • Purposes of text forms
  • Reading about French-speaking communities
+ 6 more skills in this unit →

Writing

  • Identifying purpose and audience
  • Pre-writing: gathering ideas
  • Writing about French-speaking communities
+ 5 more skills in this unit →

See the full Core French, Grade 6 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →

Grade 6 is an EQAO year

Ontario students write the EQAO assessment in reading, writing, and math in Grade 6, usually between mid-May and mid-June. It doesn't count toward their report card — it's a snapshot of how the class is doing against the curriculum. The skills it tests are the same ones listed on this page, so steady work through the year is the whole preparation.

Three ways parents use this list

At report-card timeMatch the teacher's comments to the units above — "working on number sense" stops being a mystery phrase.
At parent-teacher nightPick one unit per subject and ask "how is my child doing with this?" — specific questions get specific answers.
When they're stuckFind the exact skill on this page, open it in MapleMind, and the tutor teaches just that — step by step, as many times as it takes.

Common questions

What does my child learn in Grade 6 in Ontario?

Ontario's official curriculum sets out Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, French for Grade 6 — 208 specific skills in total. The big themes: Mathematics covers number and algebra; English Language Arts covers literacy connections and applications and foundations of language; Science covers stem skills and connections and biodiversity. The full list is on this page.

Is this the official Ontario curriculum?

It's built from Ontario's official program of studies, reorganized into plain language — and each subject links to a course page that quotes the ministry's own wording and links to the government source, so you can check our work. One honest caveat: we're not the ministry, curricula do change, and we can't guarantee this reflects the very latest revision, so confirm anything important against the live provincial curriculum data.

Does Grade 6 have a provincial test in Ontario?

Ontario students write the EQAO assessment in reading, writing, and math in Grade 6, usually between mid-May and mid-June. It doesn't count toward their report card — it's a snapshot of how the class is doing against the curriculum. The skills it tests are the same ones listed on this page, so steady work through the year is the whole preparation.

My child is finding one of these skills hard. What can I do?

That's normal — every skill on this page is one most kids wobble on at first. MapleMind teaches any of them one-on-one: a short lesson in plain words, a worked example, then solving together. It's free to start, on any device, in 14 languages.

Keep exploring

Knowing the list is half the job

The other half is the teaching — and that's what MapleMind does. Pick any skill on this page and see it taught properly, free, in under a minute.

MapleMind isn't affiliated with any ministry of education. We build these guides from each province's official program of studies and refresh them from time to time — but curricula change, and we can't guarantee this page reflects the very latest revision. Always confirm against the live provincial curriculum data. Last updated 2026-08-15.